Science-Fiction & Fantasy Saturday

Welcome to another edition of SciFi Fantasy Saturday - our little web-ring of fab SciFi & Fantasy writers and posters. Check out snippets from other SFFS authors here: scififansat.blogspot.ca.

This Week: Posting from my WiP
THE GIRLS FROM ALCYONE II: FREELANCER

In The Girls From Alcyone there is a character we have come to know as Harry Jones (aka Smith). Very little is known about Mr. Jones. In fact, should I tell you anything about him, I do fear Mr. Harry Jones would have me killed.

The taxi made its final turn into the Hospital parking lot, depositing Harry at the Visitor's entrance. His wife would be waiting for him, as she had been, as she always would. Harry bypassed the nursing station; there was little purpose in investigating her status. It would remain unchanged. 

Harry checked his watch as he entered the elevator. In a little less than four hours a lone suborbital transport would lift off from a small atoll in the pacific. Its cargo, two wealthy business men; two men who would be left to wonder what had happened to Harry Jones, and why he'd been foolish enough to remain behind.

"Poor Harry," they would say as they savored unconscionably-priced brandies, marveled at their stock quotes. "He was a good man—useful in his day."

That transport would not reach its destination.

Science-Fiction Fantasy Saturday

Welcome to another edition of SciFi Fantasy Saturday - our little web-ring of fab SciFi & Fantasy writers and posters. Check out snippets from other SFFS authors here: scififansat.blogspot.com

This Week: Posting from my WiP
THE GIRLS FROM ALCYONE II: FREELANCER

Continuing from last week's snippet: Sigrid continues her infiltration of a factory complex on Bellatrix (oh, and in case you forgot, it's raining--really-really hard--and there's, like, these big puddles everywhere).

Sigrid's sensors alerted her to the disturbance ahead. Shrinking back into the shadows, she pressed her back up against the retaining wall of the narrow loading dock, watching as a pair of hulking ground-lories trundled up to the gates. The trucks stood a good four-meters in height, their wide, studded wheels clawing deep into the soft gravel of the road, churning up more mud and rubble.

Banks of headlamps washed over Sigrid in the darkness, bathing her in eerie white light as the transports lurched forward. Sigrid gave them as wide a berth as possible. She wasn't worried about being seen—the drivers would not see her, shrouded as she was—but being invisible would not save her should one of the trucks' massive wheels roll over her.

Nor would her cloak spare her from a thorough soaking, it seemed. Sigrid had to stifle a scream as the first of the transports found what was easily the largest of the puddles in the road. There was little to do but stand there as wave after filthy wave of freezing, oily water crashed over her, soaking her from head to foot.

"Nice," Sigrid said.

Science-Fiction Fantasy Saturday

Welcome to another edition of SciFi Fantasy Saturday - our little web-ring of fab SciFi & Fantasy writers and posters. Check out snippets from other SFFS authors here: scififansat.blogspot.com

This Week: Posting from my WiP
THE GIRLS FROM ALCYONE II: FREELANCER

Continuing from last week's snippet: Sigrid has just infiltrated the grounds of a factory complex on Bellatrix on a mission for her mistress, the Lady Hitomi Kimura.

The rain fell heavier now making the muddy ground soft and slick under Sigrid's feet. Ahead of her stood another sealed metal gate, complete with tower and guards.

Sigrid walked quickly, clinging to the shadows, careful not to disturb the standing water in the larger puddles that were already forming into lakes. The guards would not see her, shrouded as she was, so effective was the cloak that her mistress had equipped her with. But Sigrid knew a simple splash could raise the alarm as easily as the guards' motion-trackers or infrared.

She doubted the men at the gate would take much notice anyway. Even without her enhanced sensors she could see they were bored, their sullen faces staring out into the gloom or down at their sodden feet, busying themselves by counting the minutes until the end of their shift. Not once did they bother to scan the grounds, and they seemed even less interested in walking a patrol.

Which was really too bad, Sigrid thought, because she was exactly the kind of thing they should be looking for.

Science-Fiction Fantasy Saturday

Welcome to another edition of SciFi Fantasy Saturday - our little web-ring of fab SciFi & Fantasy writers and posters. Check out snippets from other SFFS authors here: scififansat.blogspot.com


This Week: Posting from my WiP "The Girls From Alcyone II: Freelancer."

Continuing from last week's snippet: Sigrid has just infiltrated the grounds of a factory complex on Bellatrix on a mission for her mistress, the Lady Hitomi Kimura.

The factory was just like any of the thousands of other manufacturing centers found on any planet in the Federation. Little more than forced-labor camps, these corporate-compounds were totally enclosed communities. The workers would be housed in company billets, shop at company stores, consume the company's goods. All paid for, of course, with the company's own corporate currency, ensuring the workers would never free themselves of their indebtedness.

Sigrid knew, once employed, it was highly unlikely the working-population would ever see the outside of the walls again. She also knew how easily she might have ended up in such a facility, had the Lady Hitomi not found her.

These places were ugly, bleak and thoroughly depressing. Sigrid was eager to be rid of it.

Science-Fiction Fantasy Saturday

Welcome to another edition of SciFi Fantasy Saturday - our little web-ring of fab SciFi & Fantasy writers and posters. Check out snippets from other SFFS authors here: scififansat.blogspot.com

This Week: Posting from my WiP "The Girls From Alcyone II: Freelancer."

This week I'm changing focus back to Sigrid (the real heroine of TGfA). On a mission for her mistress, Hitomi Kimura, Sigrid prepares to infiltrate one of the many factory compounds on Bellatrix for a little bit of industrial espionage.

The last of the barriers loomed before her; a five meter-high wall of blackened, filthy permacrete. 

Sigrid unslung the thin cord at her waist, attached the grappling claw to the hook on the end. With a quick spin, she tossed the claw upward, gently guiding its trajectory toward the beveled edge of the wall five meters above. Sensors embedded in the claw's teeth instantly analyzed the surface composition, creating and injecting a bonding agent strong enough to hold better than a metric ton; more than enough for Sigrid's fifty-four kilo frame.

In a blink, she was up and over, scaling the wall in three easy strides, lowering herself to drop silently down into the factory-complex beyond.

As imposing as the wall might be from the outside, here on the inside Sigrid was confronted with the true nature of factory's design. Everything from the thick, towering walls, topped with razor-wire; the suicide-netting slung beneath the armored windows of the tenements; it was all designed designed to keep the indentured workers in rather than keeping the riffraff out.

Riffraff, Sigrid thought, with a smile. I've been called worse.

SciFi Fantasy Saturday

Welcome to another edition of SciFi Fantasy Saturday - our little web-ring of fab SciFi & Fantasy writers and posters. Check out snippets from other SFFS authors here: scififansat.blogspot.com

This Week: Posting from "The Girls From Alcyone II: Freelancer."

Last week we revealed the presence of Lady Hitomi Kimura onboard the TGV. Well, guess what! She came with friends. This (drastically shortened snip) is for anyone who's not yet familiar with the 'girls.'

Admiral Mirren found himself staring again at the Lady Hitomi's companions—and not for their more obvious attractions. Not that he was beyond admitting such a thing; he was a man, after all, and still well in his prime. But he was also a military man, and far more interested in the combat capabilities of these two young women. 

There was something—something not quite human about them. It was subtle, but it was there, and thoroughly off-putting. The exact nature of the alterations to their physiology was a closely guarded secret, but he knew enough; these girls were special, different, unique. Their genetic structure bore a marker; one that made them highly-compatible with the genetic recombinant developed by the Lady Hitomi Kimura. Mirren sensed these girls had as much in common with Homo sapiens as he had with Cro-Magnon.

And it wasn't just their biology that Hitomi had modified; each of these girls carried inside them an array of bionic enhancements far extending the limits of their physical capabilities. Admiral Mirren was a large man, powerfully built, but these two girls, less than half his size and weight, soaking wet, could snap him like a twig. 

SciFi-Fantasy Saturday

Welcome to another edition of SciFi Fantasy Saturday - our little web-ring of fab SciFi & Fantasy writers and posters. Check out snippets from other SFFS authors here: scififansat.blogspot.com

This Week: Posting from "The Girls From Alcyone II: Freelancer."

If you've been following these snips then you know that we're on a speeding TGV on the remote factory-planet Bellatrix, and Dr. Farrington, after fleeing the disaster at Scorpii, has been caught by a mysterious 'fat man.' 

Last week we revealed the 'fat man's' name. Today, we learn a little more about Admiral Henry Thomas Mirren. Oh, and if you've read the first book then this snippet will be HUGE .... or, at least make more sense. ;)

Admiral Mirren withdrew two tiny, and horrifically-overpriced bottles of whiskey from the courtesy bar, draining one in one gulp, twisting open the next before sitting back down.

Freelancers. He couldn't help but smile—the simple fact of the matter was, the affair he was involved in was exactly the kind of thing these rogues were looking for. His role in the proceedings was simple; the Freelancers would get their show, but they would see only what he allowed them to see, when he allowed them to see it.

But, that time was not yet now. 

Admiral Mirren checked his watch; Farrington would be aboard the transport now, safely on his way. Without getting up he tapped the door to the adjoining cabin. It opened instantly.

"Lady Kimura," Admiral Mirren said, addressing the older woman.

"Henry, I trust all went well."